Local businesses and industry are an integral part of the fabric of a community and most companies recognize that it is important to provide much needed philanthropic support - in the form of dollars and volunteer hours - to help a community improve and thrive.Veolia takes this responsibility seriously and has been committed to being a good corporate citizen and neighbor from the moment it joined the Richmond community.
Veolia Water North America has a well-established legacy of quickly integrating with residents and its neighbor businesses in each of the communities in which it operates by getting to know people, becoming involved on community boards and in local events, and lending support wherever it's needed.Veolia employees have donated many hours volunteering and our company provides a significant amount of dollars and in-kind contributions to help sustain those activities that make a city a real community.The reason: many of our employees live and work here, too, and they have a vested interest in making the place they live the best that it can be.
In Richmond, we have endeavored to positively impact our community in a number of ways:through community and environmental improvement, as well as education and professional development efforts.We believe we can contribute in ways that go beyond just giving money, although that is part of our overall commitment.Here are some of the things we're doing to give back to our neighbors and the Richmond community:
- Community Support - Veolia has been a long-time sponsor of the Richmond Police Activities League (PAL), West County YMCA and various other annual charitable initiatives.In 2012, Veolia also sponsored such events as the Shimada Golden Rose Festival and the Salesian Boys and Girls Club. Veolia Richmond's Project Manager, Aaron Winer, sits on the Board of Managers of the West County YMCA and is a member of the Council of Industries, Richmond Chamber of Commerce and regularly participates in the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council meetings.
- Environmental Support - Veolia is the primary sponsor of Richmond's Watershed Project which includes organized clean-up efforts of the area's waterfront and beaches and Adopt-A-Beach program for Keller Beach. In addition, Veolia sponsors the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA), an association of local government agencies which conducts critical research and monitoring of the region's water bodies and "provides technical expertise, financial support, and a public utility perspective to ensure that regulations affecting the members are well-informed, thoughtful and effective."
- Education/Professional Development - Veolia is a long-time major sponsor of the Bay Area Consortium of Water and Wastewater Educators (BACWWE) which develops educational opportunities for those in the water and wastewater industries, leading to better skills and improved job performance.The BACWEE program provides training classes and study materials at no cost to students to assist with recruiting people into career fields related to water and wastewater treatment.In addition, Veolia now offers a paid intern program which employs two Richmond residents in rotating wastewater operations training for up to a year and a half. At the end of the training program, these employees can remain working at the Richmond project if job openings exist or are eligible for employment in the field of wastewater treatment (by virtue of training and experience) at other wastewater agencies.
This is just a snapshot of how Veolia is engaged in the Richmond community. There are many other efforts under way that focus on tapping into the areas where the company can best deploy its time, talents and resources.Because we are asked often to help with a number of worthwhile causes, we have put together a document that details our areas of focus and how to submit a request for support. We carefully consider each one and do our best to help where we can. If you would like us to consider such a request for support, please ask for a copy of our Corporate Giving Policies by contacting us at (510) 412-2001.